Save a tree - email them!!

I remember when I first realized that we were really going to go all the way and just do it. The week before school started, Alexandra and I decided to communicate with our parents via email. We stressed over the implications..too informal...too risky? What if they do not get the email reminder about the items to bring on the first day of school? We took a deep breath, pressed send and have not looked back once.

Alexandra, Marisa and I share a mailbox that is solely used for parent emails. We each check it multiple times
throughout the day and each reply to emails that come in. The ease
with which parents can now send and receive emails via mobileme, blackberries and
iphones is evident in the number of emails that we receive throughout the week. We have had
some unfortunate incidents where information has been lost or not received but these instances are rare and the spam mailbox is usually at fault.

We
send everything from save-the-dates, monthly newsletters, invitations,
general requests, assignment information,
observations/issues/concerns/praise about the kids and more. The
parents have gotten in the groove of looking out for our messages and
do respond in kind. We have asked them to follow-up with a phone call, if their email is about that day's dismissal.

If you have not gone paperless, I strongly urge
you to do so even if your school has not. It is incredibly efficient
and a great way to communicate with your parents.

If
you are like me, you may have to write your messages on Microsoft word
and attach or paste them into the message. The first time that I tried
to write a message directly in the message box, my time ran out and the
server logged me out automatically. But Alexandra and Marisa are good
at shooting off a quick email and getting right to the point.

Of course there are major rules that you should consider following regarding email etiquette.